Time to make it difficult for N.J. incumbents?

With incumbent New Jersey lawmakers generally having an easy time holding onto their offices each election cycle –preserving Democrat advantages in both the Senate and Assembly – Republicans want to overhaul the redistricting process that takes place every 10 years following the U.S. Census.

Assembly GOP leader Jon Bramnick on Monday called for a voter referendum that would amend the state constitution to require competitive elections where the difference between major party candidates would likely be less than 10 percent. The projections would be based on voter registration data, Bramnick said.

Of New Jersey’s 40 legislative districts, only 3 areas are considered competitive. The same thing happens at the federal level with less than 2 dozen of the 435 House districts within reach of both parties.

Bramnick, R-Union, said there will have to be a push by local elected officials and residents to convince majority Democrats “to look at’’ redistricting reforms.

Bramnick said he hasn’t consulted with Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Hudson, but intends to. Officials with the New Jersey Democratic State Committee didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment.

“The districts have become so partisan that representatives play to the wings and not to the middle,’’ Bramnick said. “The reason you want competitive districts is that when you watch legislators (who come from competitive districts) vote, they tend to vote differently than their caucuses sometimes, because they understand they have to appeal to the middle ground. They have to be problem-solvers.’’

Bramnick said he also plans to discuss with Prieto forming four long-range strategic planning committees to look at the state’s inheritance “death tax,’’ school funding, and enlisting future public employees in 401-k retirement plans rather than traditional pensions.

Statehouse Reporter:
Bob Jordan has been writing about New Jersey politics and Gov. Chris Christie from the state capital since 2010 for the Asbury Park Press. He blogs on the Capitol Quickies site, which gets 20,000 hits a month, and has provided political analysis for MSNBC, News12, NJTV, My9 New Jersey, Aljazeera America and other media outlets. Via social media, Jordan has 1,000 followers on Twitter and is a prolific engager with other political junkies on Facebook. Jordan previously covered local government and spent more than 10 years as a sports writer on travel beats with the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and New York Mets. Among his honors is an FBI commendation as part of the Press’ coverage of the Operation Bid Rig investigation into Monmouth County government corruption.